The Boy Next Door
by dgronison
Summary: : "When we were five years old, Noah tried to kiss me in the hayloft of my grandfather's barn. After that, I haven't seen him in years. Now that my family has moved from the city to the country, he still seemed interested in kissing me..." HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.** This is my VERY first try for multi-chaptered fics. Although I don't really consider this piece exclusively mine since I got the idea and the story from a pocket book written by Janet Quin-Harkin which I used to read (a lot) when I was on my pre-teens I think. Obviously, this one's totally AU from what you read from the short summary describing this fic. I do hope you'll like the storyline as much as I did and I only used this idea just because I think Puck will be much hotter if he's like a cowboy or a farm boy (whoops! Spoiler there!) So again, this one's AU but I'm going to use the characters in the series and I'll try to update this story once or twice a week depending on how much review this will get so please, send me some love people! LOVE = REVIEWS, so please do drop by a review after reading because that would be totally appreciated. :D And yeah, the whole story would be based on Rachel's perspective. It'll start off as St. Berry (which I totally adore from the past episode) but it's an eventual Puckleberry. The characters may also be so OOC especially Puck, who will be part of the next few chapters so please do tune in with my updates. Hell, I'm so in love with berries.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own anything that I used in this story. The series, the characters, the idea and even the program I used to write this to let you, the readers, to enjoy it. But I do own the laptop to type this and the OCs included in the story. Lols. Again, I got the story from author Janet Quin-Harkin.

**CHAPTER ONE**

Music was spilling out into the hallway as Mercedes and I stepped out of the elevator onto the 20th floor. I could feel the thump of the beat through the soles of my shoes. I could also feel my heart thumping, almost as loudly.

"I can't believe we're actually here!" I whispered, grabbing Mercedes' arm for support. "We're really going to Jesse's party."

"And if things progress the way I think they will," Mercedes said knowingly, "I'd say this is the start of a beautiful relationship. Rachel and Jesse, a match made in heaven – and helped of course by one Mercedes Jones, of course."

"Hmph," I muttered, giving her a look that made her laugh. But I couldn't stop smiling to myself. It was all too good to be true. I'd started high school a year earlier at Dover Prep, an exclusive and academically strong private school in Manhattan, as a short, shy nobody. I'd been fourteen years old and looked about eleven. In fact, the only thing I'd had going for me that year was my skill in gymnastics, which nobody at Dover knew about anyway. I'd gazed with envy at all those girls with perfect bodies who confidently swept down the halls in the latest fashions. Then, toward the end of the year, things had started to happen to me. I'd grown. I'd filled out in all the right places. It had put an end to my gymnastic hopes, but people at school had started to notice I was alive. The turning point came when I had rescued Mercedes' heel from a grating and helped her to her apartment. After that we'd started walking home together. Mercedes was a live wire who knew everybody. Pretty soon I was part of her clique. And her clique included Jesse St. James.

I'd been gazing at him longingly all freshman year, marvelling at the length of his eyelashes, those adorable little creases in his cheeks when he smiled and the way he looked at girls with his smoldering gaze. I's never dreamed that that gaze would be turned on me, but at the start of sophomore year, we'd been made biology partners.

Talk about fate! We'd sat side by side at a lab bench, our knees touching as we peered at dissected worms. The teacher was serious and bespectacled, and he spoke in a way that made Jesse and me giggle. Jesse had started whispering funny things into my ear, and the feel of his lips and warm breath made me dizzy. I couldn't believe it when he suggested working on our bio homework together.

So we'd gone to Fiorelli's Coffeehouse on 75th street, which was a favorite after-school hangout, and worked through biology assignments together. At first it had just been biology, but one day we sat over double mochas for hours, just talking and laughing. I'd never felt so at ease with any guy before, never been able to laugh and kid around. But Jesse was different. He was really funny, and he was great at intimidating teachers. I'd noticed other people watching us and I felt really proud to be with him. I could have sat there with him forever.

"I had really fun time today, Rachel," Jesse had said as he walked me home. "We should do this again."

And then it happened. Outside my building he'd given me a gentle goodbye kiss. Even though it was a mere brushing of our lips, and there were people passing all around us, it had made me tingle right down to my toes.

A week later we'd been at Fiorelli's again when he told me about his party. "It will be cool," he'd said. "My folks will be out of town."

"And they're letting you have a party while they're gone?"

"Not exactly," he'd said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "My sister's home from college. She's supposed to be keeping an eye on me, but she's cool. And she'll be useful for buying the beer. You will come, won't you?" He reached out and covered my hand with his.

"Sure," I'd told him. "I wouldn't miss it." I'd known then that I'd be at that party, even if it meant swimming the Atlantic Ocean to get there. Actually it meant something almost as tough – convincing my parents. My parents are surprisingly old-fashioned for hip New Yorkers. I knew exactly what they'd do if I asked them for permission to go to Jesse's party. They'd call Jesse's parents and discover that they weren't planning to be home. Then they'd tell me, in their calm, reasonable voices, that they were sorry, but I wasn't allowed to go to a party with no adult chaperones.

I had called Mercedes in despair. "I just have to go," I'd said. "He told me it wouldn't be any fun if I wasn't there. I think he really likes me, Mercedes. I can't miss this."

"It's simple." Mercedes deep, mellow voice had come down the line. "if you think your parents will say no, then don't tell them."

"Wait a minute, Mercedes," I'd said, laughing uneasily. "I can't lie to my parents. And I's have to come up with a pretty good story to be allowed to stay out after midnight…"

"So tell them you're spending the night at my house," Mercedes had said. "You can come back with me after the party, so it won't even be a lie."

"Mercedes, you're a genius!" I'd said excitedly on the phone. My parents wouldn't object to my sleeping over at my best friend's house on a Friday night.

"Great. I can't wait for Friday night!" Mercedes squealed on the other line.

It had all been easy. Friday night I had smuggled out my new black velvet dress, for which I'd spent way more than I should have, and everything else I needed to make myself look cool, cute, and desirable for Jesse. I'd gone to Mercedes' and changed my clothes. And there I was, walking toward his door.

It was Jesse himself who opened the door. His face it up when he saw me. "Wow, Rachel – looking good!" he said, his eyes travelling from my head down to my high-heeled shoes. He took my hand. "Come out onto the balcony."

"We just got here," I giggled to Mercedes, "and he's already trying to lure me away."

"I want to show you something," he said, his dark eyes gazing into mine. "You'll never believe it."

I followed him across the living room and out onto the balcony. Central park was a huge rectangle of darkness surrounded by a million lights.

"How about that?" Jesse said, waving proudly.

"The view? It's pretty – "

"Not the view," he interrupted. "In the corner!"

I looked over. "A keg!" I exclaimed. "How did you get it up here?"

"It wasn't easy," he said. "David, Azimio and I brought it up in the service elevator in a garbage can. My sister bought it for us. Pretty cool, right?"

That was one of the things I liked about Jesse. He took risks. I hoped a little of his coolness would rub off on me. It wasn't easy trying to grow up cool with overprotective parents like mine. The thought of them shot a jolt of guilt through me. I'd never lied to them before – at least not about something as big as this. This was major deception.

I didn't have time to think about it any longer because Jesse brought his arms around me. "And while I got you all to myself out here…" he whispered then kissed me. It wasn't our first kiss. He'd kissed me when we walked home from the coffeehouse together. But we'd had to break off because people were looking. This time we were alone in the darkness and his lips felt warm and wonderful. Through the fabric of my dress I could feel his warm hands on my back and his heart hammering against mine.

"We should probably go back inside," I whispered, laughing nervously as drew apart again. "Everyone will be wondering where we are."

"No, they won't," he said. "They're not stupid. They'll be able to guess where we are and what we've been doing."

From the darkness came the muted honking of taxicabs and a burst of jazz music. "I love New York," I sighed. "It's so romantic and exciting."

"Yeah," Jesse said, his arms still around my waist. "I couldn't live anywhere else."

"Me neither, although my parents keep talking about escaping to a barn in Connecticut."

"They're just fantasizing," Jesse said. "All New Yorkers do it. My mom's always threatening me to move out to the Hamptons, but she doesn't really mean it."

"You're right," I said. "My parents love the city, too."

"Hey Jesse, get in here," a voice yelled. He let go of me and I felt his warmth slowly drain out of me. "To be continued later," he whispered in my ear and dragged me back into the room. Jesse was soon noisily greeting the guys at the front door, and I found myself swallowed up in the crowd.

"I didn't see you arrive, Rachel," Mandy Blake said. Mandy was also in Mercedes' group and had become a friend of mine, too.

"That's because Jesse dragged her outside the moment she got here," Mercedes said, grinning.

"What for, to admire the view?" Alicia asked

"What do you think for, stupid?" Mercedes said. She rolled my eyes at me. "So I guess you two really are an item. I heard a guy calling you Jesse's hot new babe."

I felt my cheeks getting warm as the other girls looked at me with interest. Lauren, a popular junior, was looking at my dress.

"You got that in The Village, didn't you?" She asked. "I saw it in the window of a store on Eight Street, but I couldn't afford it.'

"I'd decided I'd rather go naked for the rest of the year and get it," I said, grinning delightedly. "My mother would flip if she knew how much I paid for it."

"What are charges card for?" Mercedes joked.

"Looks good on you," Lauren agreed.

"You can borrow it sometime if you want," I said, feeling generous.

"Thanks," she said smiling,

It felt great to be the center of attention, getting all the admiring glances – and having a real conversation with some of Dover's most popular students. In a few minutes, Jesse appeared with a beer for me. I took a sip, although I'm not much of a drinker. I hated the taste of beer.

The room was filling up and some kids were smoking, filling the air with blue haze. The noise level rose with the smoke. Someone had put on a rap CD, and kids were dancing in the hallway. The music was so loud, it was like being part of a giant heartbeat.

"What if someone calls the police, Jesse?" Mandy worriedly asked.

"Don't worry. I squared it with all the neighbors. Everyone on this floor is out for the evening and the old guy down below doesn't care. I slipped twenty bucks to the super, so that's okay. Everything's under control." He pulled me to him and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

"So you managed to get here without your parents giving you any grief, Rachel?" Mandy asked.

"We told them she was sleeping over tonight at my crib," Mercedes said.

"Actually, it was easy," I said. "They were hardly paying attention when I asked them. They've had a lot on their minds lately… My dad got this big case coming up in court and my mom has to do a presentation for a new account at work, and right in the middle of all this they got a call from my grandfather out in Wyoming, saying that he's broken his leg and he can't take care of the ranch. So now they're trying to decide what to do about him –"

"You have a grandfather on a ranch, Rachel?" interrupted David, one of Jesse's friends. "Somehow you don't seem like the type."

"I am absolutely not that type, David," I said. "Neither is my dad. He couldn't wait to get away from there when he went to college."

"I don't know," Alicia commented. "I think a ranch sounds romantic. All those horses. Do you ever go there?"

"We haven't been there since I was a kid," I replied. "My dad and my grandpa don't get along. Grandpa can't understand Dad's need for the city life. And I don't have the greatest memories of the place. I remember this boy who'd tried to kiss me in my grandfather's hayloft. I also remember him putting a frog down my back when we were hiking near the river, and my grandfather saying I was spoiled rotten because I freaked out during a thunderstorm. Nit the greatest vacation I've ever had."

Someone put up a new rap CD and we all started dancing. But I felt a little guilty. I wanted to be loud and carefree like my friends but I can't shake off the dumb feeling of guilt. Was I the only one who felt that way? As Mercedes had said, I hadn't lied to my parents. I just hadn't mentioned all the facts. People do that stuff all the time and my friends thought it was no big deal so why am I feeling this bad?

I grabbed Jesse as he came past. "Dance with me," I begged with a pout slowly showing in my face. Almost on cue, the music changed to a slow beat.

Jesse pulled me close. His cheek was warm against mine and his arms were wrapped around me so tightly that we were breathing as one. I closed my eyes with a feeling of perfect, utter contentment. It was the most wonderful night of my life. I didn't ever want it to end.

We didn't even hear the doorbell at first.

"See if it's the crashers, dude," Jesse called to David, who was standing near the door sipping a half-bottle of beer. "If it's the old guy complaining, be nice to him."

"Thanks for letting me handle it," David called back sarcastically, but he opened the door anyway. Jesse kissed my forehead and we started to sway to the music. We were really getting into a rhythm when David pushed through the crowd to reach us.

"Hey, Rachel," he said worriedly. "It's your mom and dad, they're asking for you and they don't look very happy!"

*End note: Whoops! Okay, so sorry for the cliffhanger there but where's the fun in reading without those, yeah? So better tune in for the next chapter: Meeting the Berry's! And again, before I end this note, I would like to remind those reading this fic to please, please, please drop by some reviews. It would be really nice.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.** OMG. 17 story alerts, 6 favorited story, 6 reviews and 1 favorited author and author alert. Holy hell, Lea Michele! I just received those in 2 freakin' days. THANK YOU SO MUCH. You guys don't have any idea how these simple gestures made me so freakin' overwhelmed, I could die right now. Well, err, not yet of course because we're not done here yet. And yeah, we're still on the edge of take-off here so you guys better be a little more patient because after this chapter, we're finally meeting the Puckmeister in all his glory. Btw, this story, let me remind you again readers, is totally AU. Shelby never left Rachel and was happily married to an OC I created. I did consider using Will Schuester for the part of Rachel's dad but I was somewhat grossed out by these two (Shelby and Will) making out. S'not cool to be sucking the face of the enemy show choir's moderator. It's just… ugh. In addition to that, I think Rachel won't be too happy to have her fruity surname changed to _Schuester_. I mean, duh? WTH? And to those who story-alerted, please do drop by some reviews too, you would make another simple day an awesome one if you do. :D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to Glee. And again, the story and idea came from the one and only Janet Quin-Harkin.

CHAPTER 2

"Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?," I said with phony brightness. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I wasn't going to let them make a scene in front of my friends.

"The question is, what are _you_ doing here, Rachel?," my dad asked angrily. "You told us you were spending the night at Mercedes'."

"I was… I mean, I am," I stammered. "I was over at Mercedes' and then Jesse called and suggested that we drop in for a little while…"

"And you just happened to have a velvet dress with you? How convenient," my mother said giving me a withering stare. "You know our rules, Rachel. You do not go to parties without permission –"

"Mom, please, chill," I whispered. I noticed that everyone was staring at us and it just making this situation more awkward and embarrassing.

"Get your things, you're leaving with us."

"The rest of my things are at Mercedes'."

"Not anymore, they're not. We collected them when we stopped by Mercedes' to give you the plastic bag you dropped in the hallway. We thought you wouldn't want to spend the night without your eye drops and toothbrush, so we went by on our way from the Chinese restaurant."

She waited for me to say something, but there wasn't anything I could think of to say. Jesse had pushed his way out through the crowd. "Is something the matter, Rachel?" he asked.

"I have to go home," I said, biting my lip because I am not certainly crying in front of him and all these people.

"Hey, what a bummer," he said, his eyes holding mine in a silent sympathy. "I'll call you okay?"

"Okay," I muttered. I turned to follow my parents down the hallway. My little brother and sister we're waiting at the end of the hall. The people around us quit fussing and moved back to give us room. I'd never been so humiliated in my whole life.

"Mom, Dad," I began.

My father turned around to look at me with a cold, calm expression.

"Not another word, Rachel. We've had a long day and we're tired. We'll talk about it in the morning. You'll go straight to your room when we get home, okay?"

I climbed into the backseat of the taxi my father hailed and we drove home in silence.

The next morning my parents were already sitting at the breakfast table when I came into the kitchen.

"Sit down, Rachel," my mother said, waving at a seat. It was like being the prisoner at a trial.

"I'm really sorry," I began. I've always found out that grovelling works well. No parent can stay mad at their kid if she admits she's pond scum and begs to be forgiven. "I want you to know that this is the first time I've ever done anything like this and I didn't feel too good about it." I looked hopefully from one parent to another, trying to judge whether I was reaching them or not. They were both listening in silence.

"Do you know what it's like to be the only one who can't go to a party?" I continued. "Everyone thinks you're a geek! You both chose this school for me – it's very, very social. There are parties every weekend…"

The silence remained as my excuses trailed off and it hung there in the air until I began to feel really uncomfortable. My father cleared his throat. "I realize the initial mistake might have been ours, Rachel," he said. "Yes, we were the ones who selected Dover for you. It's a very good school. Unfortunately it's also a school for spoiled brats and that's not what we want for you."

"You're going to make me transfer, are you?" I said in a panic. "Not when I'm finally beginning to fit in for the first time in my life. Not when I've finally met a boy who likes me and gotten a good part in the play –"

"Honey, we only want what's best for you in the long run," Mom said calmly. "And unsupervised parties and drinking are not what's best."

"But, Mom," I started to protest. She held up her hand and looked at my father.

"We'd better call Beau and Katie in here and let them know what's going on, too.'

"Why do they need to see me get in trouble?" I demanded. "You know what Beau's like. He'll remember everything you say and he'll repeat it word for word whenever he gets mad at me."

"We want them in here because this concerns them too," he called. "Turn the TV off."

We heard muffled complaints and then the two tousled heads appeared. "It was my favorite Muppet Babies cartoon," Katie complained.

"Sit," my father said, indicating stools at the kitchen counter. There was something in his voice that made them both sit without arguing.

"Your mother and I have been up most of the night talking," Dad said.

"You're not getting a divorce, are you?" Katie asked. "I don't want to go to court and be in a custody battle, like Amy."

"We're not getting divorced, Katie," Dad said. "Just be quiet, listen and you'll find out what we've decided."

He waited until we were all perfectly still before he began. He's not a lawyer for nothing. "Your mother and I are not very happy about the way things are going for this family. You three are having problems –"

"I said I was sorry," I butted in. "I said it wouldn't happen again."

"It's just not you, Rachel," Dad said with a glance at Mom. "Beau gets his lunch money stolen. Katie's school psychologist says she has problems interacting with her peer group and wants her to come in for therapy three days a week. Your lying to us, Rachel, was just the last straw."

"And the crazy thing is, we really thought we were doing our best for you," Mom interrupted. "We pay a fortune in tuition to send you all to the best schools, but we realize that's not the best answer. What you need is our time and attention and we can't give it to you because we're both too busy working out tails off."

"We need time to be a family, kids." Dad sighed. "This is no way to live –always rushing to meet deadlines , always under pressure, never eating meals together, pizza instead of home-cooked food –"

"But I like pizza," Katie interrupted.

"The things we like aren't always the best for us, honey" Mom said softly. "We're your parents. We have to think about what's really best for you, so that you grow up happy and healthy."

There was a dramatic pause.

"Are we going to public schools, Daddy?" Beau asked at last.

"Probably. We'll have to look into it, but I'd say probably," Dad said.

Mom took a deep breath. "The decision we've come to is that New York is not a healthy place to bring up a family," she said, "and at the rate we're going, your father and I will both be candidates for heart attacks by the time we're forty. I know you've been hearing us talk about your grandfather's problem all week. He's broken his leg and has nobody to help him keep the ranch going. Last night Daddy and I decided that the right thing would be to go and take care of him."

"In Wyoming?" I blurted out

"In Wyoming," my father said.

"All of us? For how long?" I heard my voice quiver as I said it.

"Who knows?" Dad said. "Maybe forever. We'll just have to see things work out there."

I jumped up. "Forever? Dad, you can't be serious. We can't move away from New York!"

"We've been talking about it for some time now," Mom said.

"I know, the barn in Connecticut," I said, "but I didn't think you were serious. I thought you liked New York as much as I do?"

"We're tired of our stressful lives," Dad said. "And as your mom said, we've come to the conclusion that New York is no place to raise a healthy family."

I jumped up from my stool _again_ "You _can't_ be serious! I can't just leave New York now! All my friends are here. Couldn't I move in with Mercedes? They've got an extra bedroom while her brother is at college. I know her mom would say yes –"

My father held up his hand. "Mercedes is a major part of the problem, Rachel. Her mother gives her all kinds of freedom we don't want for you."

My mom interrupted. "It's mainly because of you that we came to this decision," she said. "You're the one we want out if the city as soon as possible."

"I can't believe you're doing this!" I wailed. "It's child abduction. It's child abuse. I'll go to the juvenile authorities and see what they've got to say about this!"

Dad grinned. "They'll say that a child has to move with her family until she turns eighteen," he said. "Like it or not, you're coming with us, Rachel."

"And I think you will like it, kids," Mom said. There was real excitement in her voice. "Imagine not having to battle the traffic and crowds every day. We could get horses for you if you wanted. We'd have time to eat dinner together."

"But how will you be able to find a job in Wyoming?" I scoffed.

"I'm not taking a job," Mom said simply, "and neither is your father. We're both quitting work."

"Oh, no," Katie wailed. "We'll be homeless and on welfare. I don't want to sleep in a cardboard box!"

This broke the tension and we had to laugh but it raised a serious question. "What will we live on?" I asked.

"We'll do just fine," Mom said, with a glance at Dad. We'll start out with Grandpa on the ranch until he's well again and if things don't work out with him, then maybe we'll get a place of our own. One thing about living here –we've been paid fairly well, and we've saved quite a bit. And in Wyoming, we won't have ridiculously high rent or private school tuition to pay. I'm sort of looking forward to raising our own vegetables and fruit and it will give Dad time to do what he's always dreamed of."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Write a novel," Mom said.

I stared across at Dad. He actually blushed. "It's always been my secret dream," he said softly. "And if it doesn't work out, if we find that I can't write a best-seller and we can't grow our own food, then I'm sure there's always work for a lawyer, or I could teach at a local college. There are plenty of options."

"For you, maybe," I said, "but what's in it for me?"

"Meeting a bunch of kids whose values haven't been screwed up," Mom said. "Realizing that money doesn't buy happiness. A chance to let you grow up as your own person and not a sophisticated phony. Who knows what talents you'll discover when you have a chance to try new things?"

"Sure," I said bitterly, "butter churning and cow milking."

"Cows?" Katie asked excitedly. "Are we going to live with cows?"

Mom smiled at Katie's excited little face. "You can have as many pets as you like, honeybun –cows, sheep, pigs, rabbits… whatever you want."

Katie slid down from her stool. "I'm going to pack my things," she said. "Can we go tomorrow?"

"Not tomorrow," my father said, lifting Katie into his arms, "but real, real soon. As soon as we can get a tenant for this place and make all the arrangements. I can't wait to see my partner's faces when I tell them I'm quitting."

I looked from Dad's excited face to Mom's to Katie's. At least Beau didn't look overjoyed. Perhaps he was remembering that he'd thrown when Grandpa made him eat home-grown turnips.

I felt a big sob coming. "I can't believe you guys," I said through the lump in my throat. "I can't believe you'd do this to me. I won't go. I'll find a way to stay here even if it's the last thing I do!"

***END NOTE: **Whoa, whoa, Wyoming. Far right? I would really like to use Lima, Ohio in this story for the Operation: Berry Family Refuge but I think it would be best to stick up with the original setting of the story. It's a mountainous town somewhere in Wyoming. I'm not really sure because it's not mentioned in the story and also, I'm not living in the States so I'm not really aware if I got the climate or the exact description of this town especially if it's really like that in the state of Wyoming. So there. Sorry for the lack of Puckleberry for the first two chapters mates. But I do promise you this time that our one and only Noah Puckerman will make his grand entrance by the next chapter soooooooo TUNE IN! :D Reviews, please. Make my day awesome as this story makes yours' too. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

First of all, my apologies to all for updating this baby just now. I'm soooooo sorrrrrrryyyyyy! Gahd, I feel so bad for making you guys wait for almost a month for Chapter 3. I've been too busy with real life that I can't find time to update it but whatever. It's here now and all you need to do is read, read, read, and just read! Then review please! :D Thank you so much!

PS: Btw, our beloved bad-ass would make his grand entrance on the 4th chapter and not in this one. Maybe I'm just too excited for him that's why I got it wrong. Hahaha! I'm sorry again, guys. L

Disclaimer: I do not own the show, the characters and even this story which was originally written by Janet Quin-Harkin. Just to remind you again guys and also for those who've just started reading this: It's completely AU.

Chapter 3

I was so upset I wouldn't even talk to Jesse or Mercedes when they called later that day. My father poked his head in my room to tell me that the gang was still planning to go the Italian film festival that afternoon, and that I could meet them there or at Fiorelli's afterward.

"So what did you tell them? That I was grounded until I'm safely among the herds of buffalo?" I snapped.

My father grinned. "You can meet your friends if you want to, Rachel. We're not monsters, you know."

I decided against the Italian movie. I knew it was about a woman who falls in love with a soldier who goes away and gets killed in a war, and I had a terrible feeling that I might sob all the way through it. But I did manage to splash cold water in my face and put on some lipstick so that I looked human enough to join them at Fiorelli's.

My friends were sitting in a corner booth when I walked in, and they looked at me with compassion. Mandy scooted over to make room for me next to Jesse.

"You missed a good movie, Rachel. It was so sad," she said.

I managed a half-hearted smile as I squeezed in beside Jesse.

"You must be in serious trouble," Mercedes ventured. "Your dad was like Mr. Iceberg when I called this morning."

"Yeah, he told me that you weren't talking to anyone," Jesse said. "I'm sorry you got in so much trouble, Rachel. I had no idea your parents would freak out about a little party."

I tried to answer him but I had to hold back a sob instead. I looked around at Fiorelli's, noticing the Italian opera posters on the walls, the pink candles on the tables and the Pavarotti playing in the background, drowning out the impatient roar of the traffic outside. Lights were glowing from a marquee across the street. There was a kebab vendor on one corner and David's Deli, home of David's Famous Pastrami, on the other. This is New York, and I loved it.

"Are you in real trouble now?" Jesse asked, touching my hand gently. "I mean, are they grounding you or what?"

"Worse than that," I began. "They're taking me to Wyoming."

"They're what? For how long?" My friends were all looking at me in shock.

"Forever," I said sadly.

"I don't believe it," Jesse said. "You break one tiny rule and they ship you off to Wyoming?"

"You'd better believe it because it's true." I said.

"My parents said they've been worrying about what to do with my grandfather and this helped them come to a decision."

"Just because of your grandfather?" Mandy snapped. "You don't just up and move to Wyoming because some old guy has broken his leg!"

"That's only part of the reason," I said. "they want to get us out of the city and to a place where life is simple."

"You've got to be kidding," Alicia said, rolling her eyes.

"They can't do that, Rachel," Mercedes said calmly, tossing back her hair. "Go to the child advocate at school. Tell her your rights are being abused. You have rights too, you know."

"And psychiatrists have proven that it's harmful to move a student in the middle of high school," Alicia agreed. "They'd actually be risking your mental health, Rachel."

"The Constitution guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," David added. "I'd say you have a zero chance of pursuing happiness in Nebraska or wherever it is."

"Wyoming," I said.

"Same difference," David said. "Once you get past Pennsylvania there's nothing until you reach California. I've driven cross-country before once. Trust me."

"Wyoming's okay," Alicia commented. "Jackson Hole looks cool. I've seen it on _Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous_. They have natural hot springs and horse-drawn sleigh rides. Tons of celebrities go there."

"We could come out and visit you for a skiing vacation," Mercedes said, looking enthusiastic all of a sudden. "I'd love to lie in a hot spring with snow all around. How romantic!"

"We're not going to Jackson Hole," I said bitterly. "We're going to a place way in the boonies that nobody's ever heard of. We're going to live in a ranch. It's the worst thing that could happen to anybody!"

They were back to looking sorry for me again.

"So just refuse to go," Mercedes said. "What can they do, carry you off over their shoulders?"

"My dad says that children under eighteen have to go with their parents, whether they like it or not." I said.

"Not if you make a big enough fuss," Mandy said. "When I can't get my own way, I threaten not to eat. My parents are so worried I'll turn into an anorexic, they always give in."

"I've only got a couple of weeks before we leave," I said. "I don't think I could starve myself to death in that amount of time."

"Just run away," Mercedes said as if this were the simplest thing in the world. "We'd hide you, wouldn't we, guys?"

Jesse gave me a sweet, wicked smile. "You could always share my room, Rachel. You know that."

"No, seriously," Mercedes said. "If you don't want to go, don't. You're almost a grown-up. You can live with one of us. We'll hide you until they're gone.

I shook my head. "I couldn't do that," I said. "They'd be worried sick about me."

"They deserve it, not caring about your happiness," Mandy said. "I mean, Wyoming is worse than a death sentence. You'll die of boredom there."

"Think about it, Rachel," Mercedes said. "No stores within a million miles, no coffeehouses, and you'll have to go square-dancing with guys who wear big boots." She paused and started laughing. "And you'll have to learn to say _hee-haw_ and _wooee_!"

"Believe me," I said, "I don't intend to get close enough to any Wyoming guy to dance with him and I will never say _hee-haw_. In fact, I'm planning to lie in my bed and stare at the ceiling until they realize how unhappy I am. Then they'll have to send me back here."

Jesse was staring down at his cappuccino. Then suddenly he looked up with a big smile on his face. "Lighten up, Rach," he said. "You don't really think your parents will be able to stand it out there for more than a couple of months, do you? They're used to New York too, remember. They might think that it's cute to live on a farm for a couple of weeks, but wait until it snows and they're stuck five miles from town with only one channel on the TV. I bet you'll be back by Christmas."

I looked at him hopefully. "You really think so?"

He nodded. "I'm counting on it," he said. 'Who else would I take to the winter formal?"

It was about the sweetest thing anybody had ever said to me and I felt dangerously near to tears again.

"I hope so," I said. "I just hope you're right."

I spent my last weeks in New York cramming in everything that I had always meant to do but never done. Jesse did everything with me, going to as many of our favorite hangouts and movie houses as possible. "So you don't die of culture starvation." He said.

What a great few weeks. Jesse and I really began to connect - to get to know each other. How was I ever going to leave him?

On my last day at Dover, Jesse and I spent a perfect October day together. The temperature was warm without being muggy and the leaves were beginning to turn gold on the trees of Central Park. We walked through the park together while horses clip-clopped by, pulling open carriages of tourists. Central Park had never looked lovelier. New York had never seemed a more perfect place to live. Central park had always been just at the end of the block, and I'd hardly ever taken the time to walk through it. But that day I savoured every tree, every rock, every fountain saying to myself, _I'll never see this again._

"I can't believe I'll be on the road to Wyoming in the morning," I said.

"I can't believe it either," Jesse said. "We're only just getting to know each other and now you're going away. It's not fair."

"I'll never feel this way about anybody else," I blurted out.

"I know what you mean. You're really special, Rachel." He took my hand gently. "Saying good-bye is hard for me too."

"I'll think of you every day," I said. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek.

"Hey," he said, reaching across to wipe away the tear. "It's not like you're going to the end of the world. There are phones in Wyoming. I'll call you every night."

"That will cost a fortune."

"I don't care," he said. "My sister calls home from college all the time on our calling card. I should get equal privileges. And there are planes. I could hop a plane and come out to see you."

"You could?"

"Sure, or you could get your parents to fly you out back here for vacations."

"Yeah," I said, a tiny glimmer of hope appearing in the darkness of my despair. "They'd have to allow me that, wouldn't they? They couldn't keep me away from my friends forever."

"And like I said," Jesse added, "when the first snow comes and the pipes freeze and they can't find fettuccine in the local store, I bet they'll run back to civilization. By next spring, you'll have forgotten that you were ever away. We'll go to all the new Broadway shows you've missed and we'll go rollerblading through Central Park when all the new leaves start growing back on the trees."

"Oh Jesse, you really think so?"

He smiled at me. "I'll be holding your hand and when we come to a big tree like this one, I'll take you in my arms and kiss you, just like this…" His lips then met mine and we stood locked in each other's arms. "If you haven't forgotten all about me by next spring, that is, " he teased as we drew apart. "If you haven't found a cowboy you like better by then."

"Don't joke about things like that," I said angrily. "That will never happen."

We walked home, hand-in-hand. After a final goodbye kiss, I watched as he turned and slowly walked away. It was the last time I was going to see him for who knew how long. I wanted to remember the moment forever.

That night, Dad came into my room as I was trying to cram the last of my stuff into an already-too-full duffel bag.

"Rachel, I know you're mad at us for doing this to you," he said. "I know you don't want to go, but please believe we're doing what we think is best for all of us,"

I went on trying to jam a pair of shoes into a non-existent space in the corner of the bag.

"Who knows?" he went on. "You might actually like it there."

"Right."

"You might even blossom into a person you never knew existed- one who doesn't need credit cards, expensive, designer clothes and wild parties to have fun."

I got the shoes in and wrestled with the zipper.

"Your mother and I have been concerned about how much this upsets you," he went on, "and we've decided on a compromise."

I looked up hopefully.

"We've decided that you should give it a fair trial. If at the end of the school year, you're still desperately unhappy in Wyoming, then we'll arrange to send you back to New York for your junior year. Does that sound fair?"

"it sounds better than nothing," I agreed. "Back to Dover?"

"I didn't say that. We'll have to think about it very carefully. But promise me that you'll give Wyoming a fair shot. It will be a challenge for all of us to adapt to a new way of life. We're going to need to pull together, okay Rachel?"

I gave a grunt, which could have meant okay and he walked out of my room. But a new ray of hope was glimmering in my brain. If I could just survive the rest of the school year…

*Oh god, my eyes are already straining as I am typing this but thanks to you guys, I still had the energy and will to push through this migraine and finish this so that you won't be tired of waiting. Anyway, I really need to rest now because I still have classes tomorrow. Chapter four coming up tomorrow night, hopefully! Reviews are love! :D


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